2 Samuel 23 - 1 Kings 1

New King James Version

David’s Last Words

23 Now these are the last words of David.

David’s Mighty Men^(H)

⁸ These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: ^[b]Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among ^[c]the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time. ⁹ And after him was ^(I)Eleazar the son of ^[d]Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. ¹⁰ He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was ^(J)weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to ^(K)plunder. ¹¹ And after him was ^(L)Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. ^(M)The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. ¹² But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.

¹³ Then ^(N)three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at ^(O)the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in ^(P)the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴ David was then in ^(Q)the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. ¹⁵ And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” ¹⁶ So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord. ¹⁷ And he said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this! Is this not ^(R)the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it.

These things were done by the three mighty men.

¹⁸ Now ^(S)Abishai the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of ^[e]another three. He lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name among these three. ¹⁹ Was he not the most honored of three? Therefore he became their captain. However, he did not attain to the first three.

²⁰ Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from ^(T)Kabzeel, ^[f]who had done many deeds. ^(U)He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. ²¹ And he killed an Egyptian, ^[g]a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. ²² These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men. ²³ He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him ^(V)over his guard.

^24 (W)Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ^25 (X)Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, ²⁶ Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, ²⁷ Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, ²⁸ Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, ²⁹ Heleb the son of Baanah (the Netophathite), Ittai the son of Ribai from Gibeah of the children of Benjamin, ³⁰ Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai from the brooks of ^(Y)Gaash, ³¹ Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, ³² Eliahba the Shaalbonite (of the sons of Jashen), Jonathan, ^33 (Z)Shammah the ^[h]Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, ³⁴ Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of ^(AA)Ahithophel the Gilonite, ^35 [i]Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, ³⁶ Igal the son of Nathan of ^(AB)Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite (armorbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah), ^38 (AC)Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ³⁹ and ^(AD)Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

David’s Census of Israel and Judah^(AE)

24 Again ^(AF)the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, ^(AG)“Go, ^[j]number Israel and Judah.”

² So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, ^(AH)from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that ^(AI)I may know the number of the people.”

³ And Joab said to the king, “Now may the Lord your God ^(AJ)add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” ⁴ Nevertheless the king’s word ^[k]prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.

⁵ And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in ^(AK)Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward ^(AL)Jazer. ⁶ Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to ^(AM)Dan Jaan and around to ^(AN)Sidon; ⁷ and they came to the stronghold of ^(AO)Tyre and to all the cities of the ^(AP)Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. ⁸ So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ⁹ Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. ^(AQ)And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

The Judgment on David’s Sin^(AR)

¹⁰ And ^(AS)David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So ^(AT)David said to the Lord, ^(AU)“I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have ^(AV)done very foolishly.”

¹¹ Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^(AW)Gad, David’s ^(AX)seer, saying, ¹² “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” ¹³ So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall ^(AY)seven^[l] years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹⁴ And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, ^(AZ)for His mercies are great; but ^(BA)do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁵ So ^(BB)the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. ^16 (BC)And when the ^[m]angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, ^(BD)the Lord relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of ^[n]Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷ Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely ^(BE)I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”

The Altar on the Threshing Floor^(BF)

¹⁸ And Gad came that day to David and said to him, ^(BG)“Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” ¹⁹ So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. ²⁰ Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹ Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

^(BH)And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that ^(BI)the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

²² Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. ^(BJ)Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. ²³ All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.”

And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God ^(BK)accept you.”

²⁴ Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So ^(BL)David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ²⁵ And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. ^(BM)So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and ^(BN)the plague was withdrawn from Israel.

Adonijah Presumes to Be King

1 Now King David was ^(BO)old, ^[o]advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. ² Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her ^[p]stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.” ³ So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found ^(BP)Abishag the ^(BQ)Shunammite, and brought her to the king. ⁴ The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her.

⁵ Then ^(BR)Adonijah the ^[q]son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will ^[r]be king”; and ^(BS)he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. ⁶ (And his father had not ^[s]rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. ^(BT)His mother had borne him after Absalom.) ⁷ Then he conferred with ^(BU)Joab the son of Zeruiah and with ^(BV)Abiathar the priest, and ^(BW)they followed and helped Adonijah. ⁸ But ^(BX)Zadok the priest, ^(BY)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, ^(BZ)Nathan the prophet, ^(CA)Shimei, Rei, and ^(CB)the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.

⁹ And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of ^[t]Zoheleth, which is by ^(CC)En Rogel;^[u] he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. ¹⁰ But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or ^(CD)Solomon his brother.

¹¹ So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of ^(CE)Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? ¹² Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³ Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, ^(CF)“Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ ¹⁴ Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”

¹⁵ So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) ¹⁶ And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?”

¹⁷ Then she said to him, “My lord, ^(CG)you swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸ So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it. ^19 (CH)He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. ²⁰ And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king ^(CI)rests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.”

²² And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. ²³ So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. ²⁴ And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? ^25 (CJ)For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ^(CK)‘Long^[v] live King Adonijah!’ ²⁶ But he has not invited me—me your servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. ²⁷ Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

David Proclaims Solomon King^(CL)

²⁸ Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. ²⁹ And the king took an oath and said, ^(CM)“As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, ^30 (CN)just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I certainly will do this day.”

³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king, and said, ^(CO)“Let my lord King David live forever!”

³² And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. ³³ The king also said to them, ^(CP)“Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own ^(CQ)mule, and take him down to ^(CR)Gihon.^{[w] 34} There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet ^(CS)anoint him king over Israel; and ^(CT)blow the horn, and say, ^[x]‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

³⁶ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, ^(CU)“Amen! May the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. ^37 (CV)As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and ^(CW)make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”

³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, ^(CX)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the ^(CY)Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. ³⁹ Then Zadok the priest took a horn of ^(CZ)oil from the tabernacle and ^(DA)anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, ^(DB)and all the people said, ^[y]“Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.

⁴¹ Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?” ⁴² While he was still speaking, there came ^(DC)Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for ^(DD)you are a prominent man, and bring good news.”

⁴³ Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. ⁴⁴ The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule. ⁴⁵ So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. ⁴⁶ Also Solomon ^(DE)sits on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷ And moreover the king’s servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, ^(DF)‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ ^(DG)Then the king bowed himself on the bed. ⁴⁸ Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has ^(DH)given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see ^(DI)it!’ ”

⁴⁹ So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went his way.

⁵⁰ Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and ^(DJ)took hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”

⁵² Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, ^(DK)not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” ⁵³ So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”